Friday the First: Flower Boy Next Door

Why, hello there, Drama of Cuteness.

When I decided to watch this in the middle of the year, I wasn't sure whether it would be good or not. The reviews I had read had said that Flower Boy Next Door was difficult to watch (KDramaFighting! compared the drama to exercise) and that it was boring. 

I thought otherwise. I'm part of what I guess is the majority, apparently, as a result. Flower Boy Next Door is adorable (well...not necessarily fangirl-moment-inducing adorable, but laughably so). I found it easy enough to watch to almost ignore the faults in the last few episodes.

Summary (from Viki):

Dok Mi is a young woman with a comfortable routine - every morning, she wakes up and spies on her good-looking neighbor, Tae Joon, from her window and voyeuristically copies his morning routine. Unable to face people, Dok Mi works as a freelance copy editor with as little interaction with the outside world as possible. But her comfortable, predictable existence comes to a halt when her peeping is discovered by Enrique, Tae Joon's younger brother who returns from a year in Spain and moves in with him. Suddenly, Dok Mi finds herself surrounded by a menagerie of young, good-looking neighbors who will not let her live her life in solitute. Jin Rak, a web comic writer who lives next door with his drawing partner, Dong Hoon, is intrigued by Dok Me and develops a new web series about her. Watanabe, an aspiring chef, also moves in on the same floor. Will these pretty boys allow Dok Mi to return to her reclusive lifestyle or will they force her to come out of her shell?

This actually could have been someone's first Kdrama. Back in November, I was talking with one of the sophomores at my school, and she decided that, since I bring dramas into the conversation so often, she might try one. This made it to the final three, but her first drama - when she gets around to watching it *glares* - will probably be Soul...

Anyway, let's move on to why this could still have a chance to be another person's first drama...

1) The female lead is cute.

Even if you don't think she's cute, she's relatable, at the very least. Come on, admit it; deep down, you know you're alike! Loners unite!

2) The male lead is cute.

There are two types of people:
those who laugh at this scene for its adorable humor;
and those who laugh because of how uncomfortable they
now feel.

For some viewers, he is like frosting that has way too much sugar. That's how sweet and adorable he is. Kawaii. To. The. Max.

But there are two male leads, so I might as well throw in a picture with Kim Ji Hoon in this category...

3) Almost everyone in this drama is cute...

...and relatable. (Sleep, must you be so elusive?)

Sometimes nonsensically so. (Hello again, Kim Ji Hoon.)

4) The humor is mixed in with the cuteness to make for natural fits of giggling.

Idiocy and sarcasm make for great laughs.

As do arguments.

5) The female lead curiously spends her days wearing her winter coat, isolated in her locked apartment. Her observations about herself and about relationships are interesting, to say the least.

Metaphor Overload.

6) Honestly, this drama is filled with fluffiness upon fluffiness.

That's really the main thing I have to say about Flower Boy Next Door. Besides the emotional analysis the script brings to the drama, there really isn't much else to say, to be honest...

If you want an overwhelmingly sweet start, Park Shin Hye, Yoon Shi Yoon, and the rest of the cast may be a fitting choice.

Disclaimer: Pamela is not responsible for any arguments, addictions, loss of social lives, increased understanding, or ridicule that may result from this post.

-Pamela

Friday the First: I Hear Your Voice

It's the second time in a row that I've seriously pondered a rewatch around the time that the Kdrama in question is being featured on "Friday the First"...However, hopefully this rewatch will fare better than when I unsuccessfully attempted City Hunter's...(though I probably won't get around to it for a couple weeks :( ) (Update: or for longer :'( )

Now, this actually sort of works within the context, since I started this show because my friend recommended it to me when she came over to my house one day. I started I Hear Your Voice for Jang Yi, I stayed because of the awesomeness (and Socky Tree Monkey - a.k.a. Lee Jong Suk).

Summary (from Dramafever):

You're innocent until proven guilty, unless you're in the unlucky situation of being guilty until proven innocent. For these unfortunate souls, there's only a 1% chance of freedom, and it's up to a comically pugnacious crew of private investigators [to set them free]. Lawyer Jang Hye Sung (Lee Bo Young), along with her salty attitude, leads Cha Kwan Woo (Yoon Sang Hyun), a former-cop-turned-lawyer, and Park Soo Ha (Lee Jong Suk), a mysterious teen with the ability to read minds. Together, this unlikely team turns convictions with unconventional methods and proves that while sometimes justice is blind to a fault, she can still hear your voice.

Are there any friends you'd like to rope into Kdramas? Well, for some, I Hear Your Voice is an excellent choice. (Ha ha ha, I rhymed.) After all...

1) The female lead isn't like most of those sweetly idiotic female leads in many Kdramas.

In fact, she actually starts off as a bit of a bitch.

But her character growth is pretty satisfying.

For those who aren't Kdrama fans yet, the idiocy of some of these female leads can be somewhat of a shocker. Jang Hye Sung conveys less of that stupidity, which is nice.

2) "Hey, you like those shows with those lawyers, right?"

There's a prosecutor - the character-type who's normally
at the center of Western crime shows.

There's the determined co-worker who usually ends up
as the female lead's love interest - and usually ends up with
said female lead. Nope.

Then there's this guy, who's just there for comic relief.

And how can I forget - the creepy man from the lead's past
who is out for revenge?

The drama partially revolves around crimes that need to be atoned for and people that either need to be put away or to be saved from being put away. There are workplace antics and dramatics in a setting that is familiar to audiences used to Castle- and Law & Order-type shows.

3) I Hear Your Voice provides two male leads whom both should be with the female lead. In other words...the love triangle is more o

"Do I still look like a flower boy to you?"
How to answer that...

Yeah, I'd say you do.

However...

*conflicted* Mr. New Guy who cares about you, respects you, works with you, protects you, and is mature enough for you? Or...Mr. Socky Tree Monkey who cares about you, respects you, learned martial arts to protect you, lives with you, has loved you for ten years, and is still growing up?

Come on, that has to intrigue a person a little. *nudge*

4) The first-leads' romance is adorable, but not drama-less.

The noona romance - or as non-Kdramafied Americans might call it, a cougar romance - grows in a way that left many of us jumping up and down from the cuteness and at the edge of our seats from the suspence (even if we knew everything would be peachy-keen in the end).

5) CAN YOU SAY "NO" TO THIS FACE? O~O

I think not!

Yes, the story behind this cute face and the resulting 10-year-long motivation can be considered a tad obsessive and creepy, but the natural innocence and the...prettiness...Lee Jong Suk brings to the screen pushes those thoughts back until they resurface later on as afterthoughts.

After all, Park Soo Ha is a fictional character. In the real world, his actions early on might not be as purely intended as one would prefer, and he would be getting some quality time with the police for a different offense.

Disclaimer: Pamela is not responsible for any arguments, addictions, loss of social lives, increased understanding, or ridicule that may result from this post.

-Pamela

Friday the First: City Hunter

What a coincidence - right after starting my re-watching of City Hunter, it's its turn!

(For this post series, I've been going in order of when I started watching the drama...)

For those of whom this was not their first drama, I can assume that the reasoning for watching this (besides the premise of revenge or maybe Park Min Young or one of the other actors) was the same as mine: Lee Min Ho. I think it beat the other three main Lee Min Ho dramas that were out after Boys Over Flowers and before Heirs because of the positive reviews and the premise:

When Yoon Sung was a baby, his father was killed by the South Korean
government after successfully carrying out a covert mission against North Korea.
Raised overseas by the only surviving member of that mission, Yoon Sung is trained from
childhood to become an elite fighter and highly educated in information technology.
He returns to South Korea to work in the Blue House and exact his revenge on his father's killers.
But will falling in love with a female security officer complicate his plans?
"City Hunter" is a 2011 South Korean drama series directed by Jin Hyuk. It is based on a famous novel (It's a manga, technically speaking...) by Japanese writer Tsukasa Hojo (Hojo Tsukasa, also technically speaking...)

(summary from Viki)

I think that, if you're hoping to get a friend to watch a Korean drama, this may be one of the dramas I would consider to be more...*shrug* There's not really a good adjective to use here...

...Addiction-starting?

...Foreigner-friendly?

...Convincing? (as a first drama)

Before I embarrass myself any further with my inability to think of adjectives, I'm just going to go ahead with the reasons why City Hunter can work as the vital first Kdrama for a non-Kdrama-watching friend...

1) Action. There are plenty of smooth stunts and fights that can keep a viewer excited...

There's even some coming from our female lead!

Lee Jin Pyo, or, as he's been referred to by myself, Badass Ajussi.

I'm not sure if I invented this word as a result of this drama, or if I just started using it more: badassery. (UPDATE: Nope, I just read a review of the K-movie A Company Man, and it's used in the title, so I'm not sure how the word came up.) It's a necessary element of any action movie or TV show, and City Hunter certainly can delight the people who enjoy some of this.

2) It has a fairly compelling story line. Non-Kdrama viewers who enjoy conspiracy / government-related plots might be a little easier to convince than others.

Aish, the feels I get from this man at the end...

Whether you choose to spoil it for yourself or not, this story is still an exciting one... The revenge; the fight between good and evil; the fight between the subsets of good and evil and revenge; the hidden identities and motives; and others.

(I just realized that some of the things I just listed remind me of the Kingdom Hearts video games, at least of Riku... and a few other characters... But that's for another time.)

3) The female lead is not only pretty, but able to fight (literally) for herself. For the most part.

Despite her getting hurt,
she kicks butt in this scene.

Even though he's faking the sissy act.

She's not an idiot, nor is she constantly letting everyone get their way with her. Kim Na Na doesn't annoy people with an incessant passiveness. If a person is coming into Kdramas with or without the knowledge of the other doormat female leads, Kim Na Na gives that person hope that some leads are just plain awesome.

4) The. Soundtrack. Is. Awesome.

I personally love this drama's soundtrack so very much. Some of the songs just hit me right in the feels. I doubt that just saying "because the music's awesome" will convince someone, but even if you just have them listen to the songs, maybe there will be a desire to see the Kdrama the music was composed for!

5) Make them laugh at Running Man and tell them that Kwang Soo's in it. (This could also work for Nice Guy although his inclusion could also be used to mislead that person's perception of the show if they know nothing else, I guess.)

6) If Lee Min Ho doesn't put the cherry on top of the cake of reasons to make this someone's first Kdrama...it certainly will be by the time they've finished the first episode.

Note: he also works as a warning that the days of
normal-ish, "manly" kind of classy will be less frequent.

I was going to choose one more picture of him fully clothed, but that would have been redundant. Plus, I think this may be a good picture to leave off on, in terms of symbolism or fangirling; take your pick.

Honestly, I think that he looks his best in this drama. (Granted, I haven't seen Faith yet, but I still think City Hunter was his best in terms of how handsome he is.)

But even if Lee Min Ho doesn't instantly get anyone riled up for a viewing, the action might just change his or her mind.

Disclaimer: Pamela is not responsible for any arguments, addictions, loss of social lives, increased understanding, or ridicule that may result from this post.

-Pamela